Album: Viorica & Ionitsa: Clejani Express, A Devla, (Network)

While Taraf de Haidouks left their native Romania to make their fortunes in the West, this group – which hails from the same unprepossessing village – split off to make its fortune in its native land, and with an urban sound of its own. This is the other side of the Gypsy-music coin. While their songs – alternately turbo-charged and lilting – have a beat which situates them firmly in clubland, there's no mistaking the underlying similarities, above all the same unbuttoned wildness. Violins, cimbalom, accordion and percussion make the perfect backdrop for Viorica's passionate voice.